Letters to the Editor - Nov. 29, 2012

Wednesday

Nov 28, 2012 at 3:15 AM

To the editor: One of today’s newspaper headlines, “Time for tough budget decisions, Hassen says,” gives me hope. I did not support Maggie Hassen in the recent election but if she is true to her word in the above mentioned article then I will be able to support her fiscal approach to governing New Hampshire. Though I am a conservative and therefore supported Ovide LaMontagne I will support right policy from governor to be Hassen and encourage her to keep fiscally responsible.

Henry F. Greig

Dover

To the editor: Now that the elections are over, it is my hope that our newly elected and re-elected state and federal representatives will waste no time in focusing on the issues of concern to older Mainers and their families. Issues such as financial and health security are of paramount importance to many of our older residents. The next Congress will be making decisions about the future of Social Security and Medicare. There are many options likely to be considered in 2013 that will have an effect on the long-term solvency of both of these programs. Now the work truly begins and I am looking forward to hearing how campaign promises will turn into meaningful action.

Here in Maine, the 126th legislature will need to find ways to balance the state budget without cutting programs that are so important to some of our most at-risk residents. As we head into the coldest months of the year, the challenges for older Mainers will undoubtedly grow. We need to protect our long-term care services and supports and strengthen consumer protections so Mainers can stay in their own homes and communities as they age.

I hope our representatives will reach across the aisle and work together to find solutions that make sense now and for the future. I encourage all Mainers to play an active role in watching how things unfold in the months and years ahead and making sure their voices are heard throughout.

Meredith Tipton

AARP Executive Council

South Portland, Maine

To the editor: Have you paid any attention to America’s financial crisis? It seems odd that we got to this point but it truly is tragic for us little people. I mean that Congress is divided along political lines and that includes the executive branch.

The question is actually “what is better for America” not “what is better for my political party.”

It seems that the Republican group thinks it is better to sacrifice some tax increase if it will avert the crisis, while the Democrat party believes that holding the line to raise taxes on high wage earners is most important. Republicans try to solve problems and the Democrats revel in the chaos they generated and our financial world collapses. It seems reason has gone out the window here.

If everyone in Congress truly wanted to solve the problem, there wouldn’t be a problem in the first place. But here we are on the brink of destruction and the Democrats are holding a proverbial gun to the heads of American industrial might and saying in essence “pay more or I will see to it that you fail” How in the world does that help the poor or those out of work? It doesn’t.

If industry or high wage earners have to pay more for taxes they will charge more for goods and services. When they charge more, we have to be given more to buy those things, so the government has to give more to us poor people, so the taxes go up again. This is truly a bad situation and the spiral is not going up.

Please ask that problems get solved not passed along to the workers.

Gary Parker

Rochester

To the editor: I agree totally with everything in the spending article in Sundays paper. I t’s about time the people running the town of Rochester wakes up.

I have lived in this town 5 years and our taxes have gone up every single year I’ve lived here. The town brought in a special school it didn’t need. They spent nine grand on a political event which wasn’t in the budget. Now they want to put bathrooms in the park.

The vandals in this town took down several mail boxes on Lowel Street last weekend and you think these bathrooms won’t cost us a fortune? Give me a break. Now last year we didn’t have a bad winter, where did the extra money go from that?

Businesses are coming into Rochester, but where are the breaks for the people on their taxes for that?

Now I know why some people don’t do anything to their homes in this town. One they probably don’t have the money because of the tax rate, two because if they fix them up you’ll just charge them more money. Then we inquired about the Senior discount for taxes and it was stated ‘Oh that is only for people with certain incomes’.

Well surprise, surprise, so there it goes again, the middle class folks, still on a fixed income, still has to pay the high taxes because we’re not either in the high income brackets as these town folks are or not poor enough to get everything given to us.

This town needs to live within their means and stop spending, $200 in your pockets may not be much, but for those of us on a fixed income that’s a lot of money

Elaine Burns

Rochester

To the editor: Rising health care costs are an increasing concern. Any new ideas that could reduce these costs would be welcome news for taxpayers and beleaguered payers of health insurance premiums.

A recent article in Circulation offers some hope. Researchers found that bans on smoking in public areas and the workplace led to a 15% reduction in hospitalization for heart attacks and stroke, and a dramatic 24% reduction for asthma and emphysema. This is very impressive data.

Are there other opportunities for the State of New Hampshire?

In 1998 the State entered into the Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies. The purpose was twofold: to recover tobacco related illness costs to Medicaid AND to direct funds for tobacco control, particularly for youth prevention programs. The money is substantial. In 2012 the State received $264 million dollars in tobacco related revenue, $50 million dollars in perpetuity from the Agreement (a million dollars a week forever), the rest from taxes on cigarettes.

There was some money spent on youth prevention programs initially, but under Gov. Benson the final stingy three million dollars was struck from the budget and never restored. Keep in mind that the Center for Disease Control recommends that about 7% of tobacco revenue (~$19 million dollars) be spent on prevention programs. The actual spending by the State is ZERO. We interpret this as an uncaring threat to the health of our youth and the recent 10 cent reduction in the tobacco tax as an unwelcome invitation to smoke even more.

The estimate is that 1,700 New Hampshire kids become new daily smokers each year. Imagine if the State had put money into youth prevention programs as they said they would in1998. Imagine there were 20,000 less smokers in the State. What do you think the effect would be on health? On premiums?

A new day is dawning in Concord. It is time to bring back smoking prevention programs and fund them with money coming in every week and already designated for that purpose.